The apostles had no use for wealth, even though some believers are wealthy, they do not place their trust in wealth and do good works of the Holy Spirit with their wealth. However, it is interesting to note that the apostles were not wealthy and even preached what happens when we work to gain this worlds goods.
Matthew 19:24-26 "…23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”…"
If you have great wealth and are serving Christ with it, no one can judge you, however, it is important to evaluate weather or not you have trusted more in your money than in Christ.
It is interesting to me that our president not only has great wealth but prides himself for having it. He has surrounded himself with the prosperity preachers who love their wealth more than they love the truth. Becoming the leader of the free most prosperous nation in the world is the ultimate gain for someone like our president.
I can see how a world that clamors after wealth would be enamored with someone who enjoys a wildly opulent lifestyle.
God's blessings have little to do with wealth, but has to do with Spiritual blessings of wisdom and steadfastness. When we have the Lord Jesus Christ, material wealth is not the goal of the sold out born again believer, wisdom and obedience because of our love for Him is our desire.
1 John 2:15-17 "15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God remains forever.…"
Matthew 19:20-22 "…20 “All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” 22 When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.…"
God knew the heart of the rich man in Matthew 19, this man had placed his trust in his wealth and could not let go of it. This is the condition of the prosperity preachers. They love their wealth, convince and trick people into giving them so much money that they can live like kings off of the backs of unsuspecting and gullible followers. "You shall know them by their fruit."
Ecclesiastes 5:10
"10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity."
James 5:1-6
"1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.
2 Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.
3 Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!
4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you."
If you have a ministry in which you are hoping for and working toward riches, under the guise of "doing a good work", then perhaps you need to go and ask God to reveal your own heart.
I encounter people all the time, those who say they have a ministry while asking for donations and support. These people wish to become wealthy and supported by others in that goal. They wear their good deeds as a badge of honor while begging others for money to do what they say God has called them to do.
There are wonderful ministries that are doing good works, they do not ask for money, they pray, people find out about what they are doing and support them, but they do not live in wealth, nor do they desire to do so. Their thrust is that Christ will be preached and many will become saved.
Often missionaries live in poverty, working many years in an area without seeing one convert, but they remain faithful. In a couple of cases I have heard about the missionaries died before seeing any fruit, but those who followed them experienced the fruit of the former missionaries. Those who died not knowing if their many years of service did anything, never saw how God was working, but remained faithful anyway. There was fruit later, someone planted for many years and others came along and saw the growth and the harvest.
Wealth is not a measure of success, in fact it is often a sign that there is a false gospel being preached and ears being tickled. Beware of strangers bearing gifts, it almost never turns out well.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
"3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths."
So many people in our day may say they are not on the side of the prosperity preacher and yet live as though they think their wealth is a sign of blessing from God.
Did you know that wealth may be a sign that one's heart is bent toward materialism and appearances more than holiness and righteousness?
The wealth an authentic Christian desires is not material, it is Spiritual. Wisdom and knowledge of truth is far greater to the born again, sold out follower of Christ than material wealth.
Proverbs 16:15-17 "…15 In the light of a king's face is life, And his favor is like a cloud with the spring rain. 16 How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver. 17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who watches his way preserves his life.…"
In the matter of feeding the baby!
I grow weary of people who think just because something is natural it is alright to display it.
There are things we do in the rest room that are natural but we should not allow anyone to witness it.
Breast feeding is natural but private. Men are turned on by it and I think women who openly do it in public know it. It is an excuse to be an exhibitionist while claiming innocence.
Ladies, if you are a believer in Christ, you might consider hiding yourself away for a short time to feed that baby. Covering the event is a good idea too, so as not to be offensive to those who believe in modesty.
Jesus Christ is the "WORD" He is the essence of whatever He has said to us, He lives in us.
When He said to hide His Word away in His heart, He never said "memorize", His meaning was to treasure them, seek for them and know them intimately by knowing Him.
It is Him we want to know more than written words on a page. If we value Him, His principles will dwell richly in us based on the Holy Spirit enlightening the words on a page, but words on a page are not little gods, they are principles and concepts that help us know His mind.
The closer we get to God the more we will see old friends fade away. Very few people have tolerance for an on fire believer who is full of the joy of the Lord. The joy all by itself convicts and angers them.
The devil hates joy, his goal is to remove joy bringing sadness to the heart.
Over the years friends have come and gone, some because we moved away from one another and others were stagnant as we grew, they became increasingly uncomfortable with our growth spurts.
Those who are pretenders are intimidated by those who are authentic.
Pretending requires constant lying, diminishing truth and minimizing sin. While authentic believers enjoy truth, confess sin and are cleansed by the experience of admitting their need. They move on with new seeds of righteousness that sprout and bring forth greater holiness deep within.
Matthew 7:15-20
You Will Know Them by Their Fruit
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruit. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them."
Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Pretenders are very uncomfortable with growing and blossoming believers, they are seen as a threat to their own false image of themselves.
It takes the discernment of Christ in us to be able to exercise understanding. Understanding reaches beyond the superficial reactions of things to the deepest needs of a human being.
When self is on the throne, there is no understanding nor is there empathy, compassion or kindness.
Colossians 3:12 "12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."
We can never change a person's mind to be able to see the truth, only the Lord can do that in His own way.
We can tell the truth, while praying that God will work in the lives of the hardened and stubborn hearts that wish to be god of their own lives.
This is the generation we live in, self is on the throne, hate and contempt dominates the hearts of many while they claim they have love, but it is not God's love, it is a worldly love that promotes self will.
Deuteronomy 1:43
"So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. Instead you rebelled against the command of the LORD, and acted presumptuously and went up into the hill country."
Isaiah 28:12
"He who said to them, "Here is rest, give rest to the weary," And, "Here is repose," but they would not listen.
Luke 19:14
"But his citizens hated Him (Jesus Christ) and sent a delegation after Him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.'"
Psalm 75:5
"Do not lift up your horn on high, Do not speak with insolent pride.'"
Jeremiah 7:24
"Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward."
The above passages were written to Israel, but they are a good fit for the United States of America today. This culture prides itself in being good, when at close inspection through the light of the Scripture, we fall deeply short of righteousness in every way.
There are godly believers here, but they are few and widespread, hardly being noticed as they are ignored, even mocked when they speak.
Many who desire to follow hard after Christ are leaving the gatherings to remain separated from the world. There is more world in the church than there are godly who seek Christ for all things.
What the modern church says to those who would correct their error; Jeremiah 44:16 "As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we are not going to listen to you!"
America does not need anything other than to repent and become broken over their lust for gold, status and recognition.
Self esteem has been elevated to a god like character quality, when all along it has been a trick of the devil to cause an entire country to become decadent and arrogant heading toward ruination.
Deuteronomy 31:27
"For I know your rebellion and your stubbornness; behold, while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against the LORD; how much more, then, after my death?"
Trudi Gretsinger said this:
"This unconditional love philosophy is really just and extension of the modern concept of self love. The basis of the self love craze is the mistaken notion that a person has intrinsic worth. That is, just because a person exists he is owed unconditional love by both God and man regardless of his actions, and he above all things must unconditionally love himself. This has to be one of the most diabolical schemes ever hatched out of the mind of Satan. Self-love, self-worth, and self-esteem are just forms of self-gratification. They make the person "feel good."
